Steels Sprints to Win in Third Stage

Another day of a flat road course brought a second consecutive stage victory for Belgium’s Tom Steels on Monday in the Tour de France.

Steels burst ahead of a bunched pack in a dramatic sprint to win the 100-mile third stage from Loudun to Nantes in 3 hours 37 minutes 51 seconds.

Germany’s Marcel Wust of Festina was second, only separated from Erik Zabel of Deutsche Telekom by the toss of a coin.

Many of the contenders stayed back in the second pack, preparing for today’s pivotal team time trials, where defending champion Lance Armstrong of the U.S. Postal team is expected to excel.

Monday, Armstrong finished 64th to remain in second place overall, four seconds behind yellow jersey-holder David Millar of Britain. Millar was part of a pileup of several racers about a half-mile from the finish. He recovered quickly, completed the race and barely held the top spot. He would have lost his yellow jersey to Armstrong if he failed to get back into the race.

Third-place Laurent Jalabert of France closed the gap slightly, moving from 15 seconds to six seconds behind Millar.

This year’s competition is stiffer, mainly because of the return of 1997 champion Jan Ullrich of Germany and 1998 champion Marco Pantani from Italy.

Pantani, who should be formidable in the mountains, has been noticeably absent so far, trailing Armstrong by 2:14. The Pyrenees’ climb, on the Spanish border, begins in the 10th of the 21 stages.

“He’s got a very good team and definitely remains a factor I have to reckon with,” Armstrong said.

Glance

A look at Monday’s third stage:

* STAGE: A 100-mile flat ride from the old town of Loudun to Nantes, a city on the Loire estuary near the Atlantic coast.

* STAGE WINNER: Belgium’s Tom Steels in 3 hours 37 minutes 51 seconds.

* HOW OTHERS FARED: Lance Armstrong finished 64th. But there’s little to be won or lost time-wise on such flat stages, which always end in a mass sprint finish. As a result, Armstrong remained second overall, still four seconds behind yellow jersey-holder David Millar of Britain. Millar’s day almost ended in catastrophe when he was one of several riders to fall in a mass pileup as the sprint finish began. But he got up and finished the race.

* QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The team is working very well together. We’ve won two now--why not a third?” --Steels

* NEXT STAGE: Today’s stage is a team time trial against the clock, a 43.4-mile ride from Nantes to Saint-Nazaire.